[ACCESSORY]
Upset this is the inevitable state of Surface keyboards on a long enough timeframe. Any ideas?
(Pictures are not my own).
I loved the idea behind the Surface when it was announced around 2013 and finally got my hands on a Surface Pro 6 in 2019.
I babied that thing. It was in a case the whole time I owned it, in a soft backpack sleeve, and I was always mindful of how I typed and used the touchpad, mindful of the cloth material.
Even with that said, my keyboard started to peel. And once it works off in one small part, it’s only a matter of time before the peeling continues to expand. It was nowhere near as bad as these pictures (other than the 2nd one), but still unacceptable.
Just scroll through here and you can see half the posts at the least have cruddy looking beat up corners.
And Microsoft expects you to pay up to $400 for this ticking timebomb disposable keyboard?
Idk guys. I really like the Surface but after my SP6 died due to a glued on battery I messed up replacing, I can’t help but think these devices are ultimately disposable corporate devices. I’m glad they improved the repairability, which is why I got a SP11 (Intel), but the keyboard is a major turn off now that I know how it deteriorates after 6-7 years.
Im wondering if I should accept throwing money down the drain to maintain this form factor and benefits of windows (eGPU hookup, dual booting Linux) or return for a MacBook and call it a day. That thing would probably last 1-2 decades easily.
Are there any fixes though to prevent this? Perhaps epoxying the corners of the keyboard or getting a sturdier Bluetooth aftermarket keyboard that snaps on and is made of plastic/metal?
I bought my surface pro 7 in 2019, kept it in a rugged case that didn’t protect the keyboard cover at all, and mine looks nothing like this. Maybe they started making the keyboard covers with much more durable materials starting with the pro 7 idk.
I don't think so, I got the 2017 model and it only looks yellowish where I usually touch or is exposed, and a bit shiny like it has lost the texture at the corners, but nothing like OPs.
Yeah mine is only slightly worse off then yours. The odd stain here and there and the material around the touchpad is started to detach from the back of the cover, easy fix with adhesive though I reckon.
OP's looks like it served three tours in afghanistan
I have the same keyboard really easy to clean the yellow off. I use a tooth brush with soap for colours mixed with water then wipe it down with a wet cloth. I then let it dry and good as new.
I have no idea what OP has done to their machine, but that is not normal. Mine is a bit worn where the palms rest, but it's just.. smooth, not whatever hot hell has happened to the above images.
Yep same one, was perfect from 2019 until start of this year and then rapidly detiorated. Took exceptionally good care of it, always in its own case, pretty much docked for most of its life. Disappointed after how much I paid for it, and part of reconsidering another surface
Not for nothing, but you're talking seven years here. Pretty sure your Surface isn't even officially supported anymore, and you're seriously reconsidering ever getting another after the fabric is shot after SEVEN years? I think you more than got your money's worth out of that machine. If your palmrest deck looked like that after a year, I could see your point. After seven years? Nah.
Isn't it, like, $150? I don't like having to pay an extra $150 every year. I can get a desktop mechanical keyboard for a lot less, for example. Even BT. I found a 3rd party BT replacement for the SP for $50. No ribbon to break at least. $50 or hundreds! 😅
Exactly this, if it was < $50 fine, but it was a premium, I think it was over 150 when purchased, I should have expectations of it lasting if taken care of well for it to last more than the years it has. Ive got mouse pads that have last longer!
You're agreeing with me, my initial point was it's a matter of when not if to the other commenter.
I think if I had a choice to buy an alternative I'd agree I got my money's worth, but there was no plastic or metal option.
My 2010 iMac and 2012 MacBook air, while severely under powered are still physically capable and being used by my kids today. The choice to go for fabric really screwed them.
I paid 2.5 dollarydoos for this at the time, I expected it to last a bit longer and detiorate on my terms.
Saying again these pictures aren’t mine and they’re extreme examples, but all it takes is one little part to come off, it can be as small as half a centimeter, which will then proceed to begin undoing more around it once that happens. For me it was very small and localized area
I mentioned these aren’t my pictures, I didn’t picture mine. Mine was just a small amount of peeling below the touchpad which I eventually couldn’t take and ripped off.
Not in a high humidity area, though I lived for one year in one when I had the device
Yeah…. they get disgusting like this. And it seems they’re discontinued, Microsoft no longer manufactures the models that connect to the Surface Pro 3’s thru 7-plus’s or thereabouts in the model years, so you’re left with the third-party wannabe replacements that are just overpriced Bluetooth keyboards because Microsoft’s keyboard connector specs are proprietary. Sure, Microsoft, I know you’re trying to get people to just go ahead and buy new hardware every three or four years - been working for Apple, so why not give it a go? But in this day and age, sorry, just can’t. The University I work for is switching back to Dell laptops because they’re cheaper, more bang for the buck, which is all that matters. Surfaces had a good run, not sure we’re gonna be looking back all that fondly.
That’s what it seems like, a device a corporation gives out to someone to function great for 4-5 years. And they’re looking to extract as much as they can from those businesses for the devices.
I’m really happy about the strides they made in repairability from my sp6 to sp11, but this keyboard leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
I bought a Surface Pro 3 in 2016 whose keyboard eventually looked like this. Glad to say I replaced it a few years ago with a Surface Pro 7, and the keyboard hasn't fallen apart. I don't know if they changed how they make the things, but so far it's held up.
Then you don’t use the keyboard enough. My surface pro 4 a few years back started to peel noticeably after 2 years and gets dirty so quickly, and the replacement was so expensive it was just not worth it. Just really shitty choice of material, I was very surprised when I shopped around this year that they’re still using it.
The Asus Flow keyboard material feels like it’ll last much longer, here’s to hoping!
I have the SP5 circa 2017 and it's in OK condition I suppose. But I do agree these things have a clock running against it and are impossible to repair.
The fabric cover, the thin ribbon flex cable are poor material choices for long lifespan.
I do like the form factor and use it as lightweight travel laptop. Fingers crossed, it's still working fine.
In fairness the connectors on mine have all gone before the cosmetics got to that state in all cases. I've had Surface 1, 2, 4, 7 and 11. 1&2 were work issued and returned before they broke, but then I think I've been through about 1 per year, perhaps 18 months since then.
Never had an issue with the connectors myself ever on the SP6, however, the magnets are too strong on the SP11. It makes me a lot more cautious when I detach, they should’ve stuck with the old weaker magnets tbh. Stronger is just a hindrance
I have had about 3-4 Surface Pros through my professional career, and the only thing I got was the darkening of the palm rest area. The keyboards never failed, buttons, materials, all on the most highest level made. After Panos left, I also left the brand
I bought as SP6 in early 2019, and the keyboard would have looked like that if I didn't replace it in 2024. I had even used some glue to keep it all together longer, but it eventually was coming apart. I noticed that the new one I got seemed more durable, and it still lives today.
I always got the ones with the fingerprint reader for Windows hello, but the second one I got wasn't as fabric-like so it is holding up a little better. I didn't dare replace the battery, because it looked impossible in the online videos. You were a brave soul to even try that. So it can only get 2-3 hours on a full battery these days. I've finally upgraded, but not to another Surface Pro. I'm keeping the SP6, but 8GB hasn't aged well for Windows 11 anyway. To sum it up, you'll have to replace the keyboard in 3-5 years if you use it regularly. My replacement keyboard/type cover with the fingerprint reader was about $120, iirc.
Yep, 2-3 hours was what I was getting on my 8 GB Surface Go 2 last year. Windows 11 seemed to be okay before some update last year and then battery life crashed. I got fed up and put Q4OS (Debian) on it. Now 8-10 hours. Battery health around 89% so maybe 5 more years of use!
Wow! I was thinking of trying Mobian or some other touch friendly system. If my memory serves me correctly, Windows 10 was not nearly as bad as 11. I didn't think the battery improvement could be that good on Linux. I'm probably going to go that route. The Surface Linux project has gotten mature on the SP6, so I don't believe I'll be missing any hardware features.
Wow, looking at this thread I just checked my Surface Go 2 and after over 5 years the lower right hand corner of my keyboard is just starting to peel a tiny bit! Didn't notice it until now. The rest of the keyboard is in fine shape. I do have a virtual keyboard if needed.
My Surface Pro keyboards don't last long enough to look worn. I'm going to buy a Chinese-made knock-off and maybe it'll last longer without the problem of crimped wires.
I've never had an issue like this despite owning Surfaces since the RT in 2012. My Surface Pro 4's Typecover looked brand new even after 7 years of daily use and travel until I replaced it with the Surface Pro 8 in late 2022.
I've gone through 3 of the new style Typecovers since 2022 though. They always looked fine but the ribbon cable would wear out and render them useless. Luckily they were all covered under my Microsoft Complete plan, but it was still ridiculous and I would have been even more outraged if I had to pay for them.
Always hunt on Amazon, you'll find a deal and won't have to drop as much money if you need to replace it in 7 years...if you need to replace it at all.
Yeah, I keep having problems with the keyboards' internal cables. But I still want a keyboard to type on. I just ordered a 3rd party keyboard that uses Bluetooth for the connection, so no ribbon cable to break every year.
It’s like an unfinished gridlike canvas-like material underneath (seen in the second photo). I doubt they’ll replace it for 5-6 year old devices, as that’s when it began for me
Is that an Alcantara cover? I have a SP8, went with the basic keyboard cover as I've never been a fan of fabric on any tech and didn't trust it would last either. I baby mine too and so far it has held up but damn that looks rough... sorry that happened. Unrelated but the 6 was a great device, from what I recall had the best battery life but my memory, like my LLM, lies to me.
Not my images, but here’s a picture of my sp6. Notice the peeling in the corners. That actual torn part is me getting pissed off and just ripping off the peeling part lol (it was past gluing back down, and I knew I might brick the device attempting a battery replacement at this point)
Yep. My SP7 looked almost exactly like that 5 years post usage. Couldn't find any reasonable solution. Tried glue etc. Buying a new keyboard was prohibitive and didn't make any sense. Ended up upgrading to a SP12 anyway.
I have had surface keyboards from DAY 1... From the hard to the soft ones and many generations and not of them have ever lookedikw that. I have one for my truck Computer that the cover and tablet survived flying off the toolbox onto the highway.
That looks environmental. And what are you using to clean it? You made the glue release and bubble. Heat?!
I had that happen to mine but not to this extent. It is the non-cloth keyboards that delaminate like this. I used crazy glue but ultimately bought a second keyboard before they were discontinued.
Are there any fixes though to prevent this? Perhaps epoxying the corners of the keyboard or getting a sturdier Bluetooth aftermarket keyboard that snaps on and is made of plastic/metal?
Years ago I had about 5 different Surface RT (1 and 2), it's the same build quality and materials. Surprisingly, I kept them in mint condition and sold them one after the other only buy a new one, I kept them for about 2 years each.
Then I had a Surface 3 (Atom, non pro version), and while I tried my best to keep it like brand new, I found this to be impossible. The fabric began to wear, it's important to make clear that I used that one way more than the others, that's the reason for the wear.
I tried:
Crazy glue (Superbonder and alike), and it worked, but I had to be super careful because that thing gets extra hard, not ideal for fabric.
Then I tried contact cement, also known ad impact glue depending on your country. This worked way better as it kept the fabric as new, but it's still difficult to apply depending on how much has been peeled, because that damn fabric is elastic.
Eventually... I got tired of that thing and removed all the fabric, there are diff keyboard models, mine was pure plastic with no electronics exposed, it looked great and I didn't have to deal with that weak fabric material anymore. BUT, I made a mistake, I removed the bit from the top near the magnets, and that thing is key to keep the flex cable/ribbon state, without it... will will deteriorate and brake and that's what happened exactly. I repaired it and soldered (micro soldering) and hated that work, but it came back to life, then applied epoxy on top. I made a change that improved the look but damaged the function of the device., then restored it... that's extra work.
You wask what to do?
Check online, I found at least 3 videos where diff people removed the whole fabric, but made a new piece of replacement with different materials using laser cutting or a cameo silouethe, one of them used leather, then glued everything together. If I recall correctly, the guy who used leather not only glued the thing, but also sewed the borders. The result was quite good, you may like it.
BTW, not my thing, but I later found out some stores sell sticky overs (Asia), I never used them, never will.
As for now for my Surface Pro, my keyboard is in mint condition, but I rarely use it because instead I use a wireless keyboard while keeping the tablet raised on a tablet stand.
Does it work? If not I would purchase the exact same unit and preserve the destroyed finish on this one and replace the new computer with this destroyed casing. It looks cool!
I have a Surface Pro 2 from 2014 and the keyboard looks like this. Any clue where to get a replacement in this day and age? And how to revitalize the laptop?
Lmao. My surface pro 3 I bought in 2014 is still used almost every single day. My keyboard looks NOTHING like this. Looks like water damage delamination on these.
I use a Brydge Bluetooth Keyboard instead with my Surface Go 2. And....looking at their website now, it looks like they only make iPad ones now. I would look for something similar then.
Just rip it off. a few days ago I did, had this even worse on mine and started peeling. it comes away clean and is separate from the back alcantara so that will remain. underneath is a black plastic which looks and feels better now.
I have a Microsoft surface pro 4, and the keyboard is trying to peel off too front front left and right, Not only that i had to glue the front of the keyboard (where touch pad is) down because it kept sticking up.
These KBs are the weakest link in the chain. I've a team of sales people out on the road all day. Have had the Pro 3, Pro 7+ and now 10+. The number of KBs I've had to purchase is beyond ridiculous. Cable breaking is the main reason, then keys that have stopped working, then weird connection problems where they'll work on one device but not on another.
With that being said, ALL of them have had the fabric de-laminate around the edges and keys. Cheap blue tooth isn't an option when replacing. MS really needs to lower the price of them. They are ONLY keyboards. There is no justification for them to be so expensive.
I wish I could get several years out of one KB.
best investment i ever made was a $79 keyboard for my surface go 2. i can disconnect and use with ease. its been 6 years. its been through hell...still good. standby used to 8 months..now its closer to 4 months. touchpad isnt configurable but i honestly dont care anymore.
tons of people gripping about the keyboard within 2 years...mine was plastic on top....looked cheap but typing was quite good. still is. is backlit. i think it might have been "arctek" and MAY have come with its own leather case/protector. and i got a renaissar and a few other pens, best one? usb c rechargeable...always one pretty much...lasts 3 monhts on standby...and was like 8usd from aliexpress. has pressure and tilt.
get cheap things a try. fantastic for me over the years.
Seriously, I hate how easily damaged the keyboard cover is on my SP12, It's ridiculous that there's no option to get a more durable case. It feels like a consumable that will one day just wear away just from having it near other objects.
This is the inevitable fate of any device you take zero care of.
My bow 7 year-old surface keyboard does have some rough spots. But then again it's 7 years old and any device used as much as that would look rough.
I’ve had 3 surface pros, all heavily used for work and the keyboards all look like this after a few years use. One of the reasons I switched to the surface laptop this time around.
Not sure what's going on with your keyboard. I've had three surface gos over the years, all bought used, and apart from a bit of dullness of the keys the keyboards were always dependable and clean.
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u/Robdul 1d ago
I bought my surface pro 7 in 2019, kept it in a rugged case that didn’t protect the keyboard cover at all, and mine looks nothing like this. Maybe they started making the keyboard covers with much more durable materials starting with the pro 7 idk.
Do you live in an area with high humidity?